The stunning landscapes of Wadi Rum hosted Jordan Baja riders for three days of racing. Young Briton Alex McInnes managed his race intelligently and took victory by over six minutes from Saudi rival Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera. In the quad category, Hani Al-Noumesi beat fellow Saudi Ahmed Al-Jaber by more than 13 minutes.
Riders tackled the Prologue after passing administrative and technical checks and before crossing the start podium at the Ayla marina in Aqaba. A highly-motivated McInnes (KTM) was the only Junior rider on the grid and he won the 11.78km section from Marcin Talaga (GasGas) and Sultan Al-Balooshi (Kove) and was able to choose his starting position for the opening desert special stage the following day. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (KTM) finished ninth.
The short desert stage took place near the village of Rahmeh, north of Aqaba, and determined the starting order for the first of the stages crossing Wadi Rum.
On Friday, riders covered 225.71km in Wadi Rum. The stage started and finished in Humaymeh, an ancient trading post in southern Jordan, founded by the Nabataean king Aretas III in the first century BC.
Prologue winner McInnes chose to start in 10th position. It was a wise decision that allowed him to take the lead from the very first checkpoint. “It was the most incredible rally I’ve ever raced in my career,” he said at the finish. “At the beginning, there were some very technical, enduro-type sections, and I had a small fall in the rocks. Luckily, I came out unscathed. I caught up with (Mohammed) Al-Balooshi, and we rode together for 100 km until the end, taking turns at the front.”
Sultan Al-Balooshi crashed, finished the special stage, but had to retire. Starting second, his brother, Mohammed, got lost after 11km but then enjoyed riding with McInnes and finished fourth behind Eid.
"I had some problems with the navigation instrument," commented the defending champion, "but my hand injury didn't bother me anymore after I put a sponge in my glove..."
Kuwaiti Abdullah Al-Shatti secured third behind Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera, while Joanna Modrzewska, the only woman in the field, finished 11th on her Triumph. She said: "I'm happy because I rode faster and the bike is easy to handle and comfortable."
Al-Noumesi dominated the quad category aboard his Yamaha YFM 700R.
Saturday’s final stage ran for 195.38km and was just as spectacular as the first. Despite his youth, McInnes demonstrated his race management skills by riding cautiously and conceded the stage victory to Al-Mogheera. The Saudi had received a 5min 27sec bonus the previous day for stopping to helpSultan Al-Balooshi, who had crashed heavily.
"It’s cool to win again," commented McInnes at the finish. "I led all day, but at the start of the special stage, I made a stupid mistake that cost me the stage win. Abdulhalim caught me and stayed with me all day. The course was really beautiful, despite the very rocky last 20 kilometers. I won in Ha’il, I win here, and I’m off to Portugal in April to continue the FIM Baja World Cup."
Abdullah Al-Shatti finished third, despite a 2min 10sec penalty, ahead of five-time winner Mohammed Al-Balooshi, who also received a two-minute penalty for speeding. Neither Sultan Al-Balooshi nor Sultan Al-Shanqiti started the second stage.
Joanna Modrzewska finished in 12th position and again scored maximum points in the Women’s category. Al-Balooshi was the top performer in the Veteran category, ahead of Rafic Eid and Joanna Modrzewska. McInnes was the leading Junior.
In the quads, Al-Noumesi confirmed victory with an overall advantage of more than 11 minutes over his compatriot Ahmad Al-Jaber. He finished 21 minutes ahead of third-placed Abdulaziz Al-Atawi.
All results and information on SPORTITY code 26JBFIM